Jeff Bezos insisted people should work on helping the planet and humanity develop further instead of clinging to the past. Mr Bezos insisted metric showed living conditions have steadily improved as he announced extra funding to help tackle the climate emergency. Speaking to COP26, the Amazon founder said: "When people hanker for the good old days and glamourise the past, they are almost always wrong. By almost all metrics.

       "Life is much better today than it was in the past.

       "Global poverty rates are lower, infant mortality and life expectancy are better and education rates are higher."

       He continued: "But there is a notable exception.

       "The natural world is not better today than it was 500 years ago, when we enjoyed unspoiled forests, clean rivers and the pristine air of the pre-industrial world.

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       "This is an unacceptable anomaly and it's one we can reverse.

       "The question is simple - will we in this room work together, do the hard work together, to gift our children and grandchildren an improving natural world?

       "I know the answer is yes and I look forward to working with all of you on this important and rewarding journey."

       Mr Bezos pledged $2 billion to help restore "nature and transforming food systems."

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       He added: "It is part of the Bezos Foundation's $10billion commitment to fighting climate change."

       However, his pledge came under question when commentators pointed out Mr Bezos has recently taken a turn at suborbital space exploration with his Blue Origin mission.

       Reacting to the pledge, political commentator Paul Waugh said: "Bezos says that 'when I was in space' earlier this year he realised just how thin the globe's atmosphere was.

       "Think he forgot to mention just how many fossil fuels he spent getting into space."

       Mr Bezos himself referenced his experience in orbit before announcing his pledge: "I was told that seeing the Earth from space changes the lens from which you view the world.

       "But I was not prepared for just how much that would be true.

       "Looking back at Earth from up there, the atmosphere seems so thin, the world so finite and so fragile.

       "Now, in this critical year and what we all know is the decisive decade, we must all stand together to protect our world."